In the treatment of persons having cancer in a limb, it is often necessary to remove large portions of the bone. As a result, it has been common to amputate the extremity leaving the person a relative invalid where the limb is a leg. Inasmuch as there is a large gap between the opposed remaining bone portions, it has not been possible to use bone splints such as have been developed to align broken bones which are abutted to one another. Typical patents showing such devices are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,672,861, 3,744,488, 4,016,874, 4,262,665, and 4,467,794.
Accordingly, among the objectives of the present invention are to provide a bridging device which can be utilized in a limb to span the large gap caused by the removal of large portions of the bone; which device provides strength and stability sufficient to support the person permitting the person to walk thereby permitting the person to be self sufficient.
In accordance with the invention, the bone gap bridging and fusing device for use where large portions of the bone are removed in limbs comprises first and second pin members adapted to be placed in axial openings formed in the opposed remaining bone portions. Each pin member includes a head and the heads of the pin members interengage one another to prevent relative rotation between the pin members. A collar telescopes over the interengaged heads to lock the pin members axially relative to one another.